New York Times Executive Editor Jill Abramson described in a note to readers how the new system — which she said was intended to “improve the community experience” — allows for threaded comments, so readers can respond to other commenters. Like many other web-based commenting systems (including ours at GigaOM) the new Times version allows readers to share their comments to Facebook or Twitter, and comments are also included on the actual story or blog page, whereas before, readers had to click through to a separate page. Trusted readers get a small check-mark next to their names to show they have graduated to this preferred status:

Among other things, the Times said it hoped the changes — such as the addition of threaded comments — would make it easier for reporters to respond to comments, something that newspapers have never really been very good at, although whether it will actually do this remains to be seen.

But by far, the biggest criticism is that to achieve “trusted” status and post comments without moderation, Times readers have to connect their Facebook accounts to their New York Times account. As the FAQ on the new system confirms, those who don’t belong to Facebook are effectively excluded from the new feature. This sparked a significant amount of outrage, not just in the comments on Abramson’s note to readers but also on Twitter, where readers said they resented being forced to sign up for Facebook just to get access to this new relationship status.

Despite the criticisms, the NYT’s changes make sense

That said, however, I think the rationale behind the creation of a new level of reader engagement is a good one. For years, leading web communities such as Slashdot have shown that one of the ways to encourage interaction and improve the quality of reader behavior is by giving users incentives to behave intelligently (and also penalties for doing otherwise). Karma points, which Slashdot uses, reward commenters for being smart, and also reward them for flagging other comments that are offensive or stupid — something I hope the New York Times is considering as well as it adds features to the system.

There are plenty of things the New York Times needs to do if it really wants to pursue this approach, including giving “trusted” readers the ability to moderate comments, as Slashdot does. And if it really wants to walk the walk, it should get its writers to respond to comments more often, instead of treating them like a ghetto where NYT staffers are rarely seen or heard from. But the new changes are at least a start.